Engine cleaning system

Abstract

An internal combustion engine purging system cleans out deposits of carbon and other substances that accumulate over time in the fuel system by delivering a mixture of fuel and cleaning solution into the fuel intake ports while the engine is running, so that the engine pulls the mixture through the carburetor jets or injectors. This purging system is characterized by its virtual universal application with substantially any commercially produced gasoline or diesel engine. It is in part comprised of two separate but overlapping systems, one for gasoline and one for diesel, which are selectable by the operator. Engines as small as a lawnmower and as large as a locomotive diesel can be purged by the system due to a combination of a high-capacity diesel pump motor which can deliver two gallons of fuel per minute at a pressure of 50 pounds per square inch, and a flow control system which can meet the needs of substantially any engine in terms of the flow rate and pressure of the fuel that it requires for its fuel intake, and a separate gasoline pump.

It is hereby claimed: 
     
       1. A purging system for purging internal combustion engines by temporarily replacing the engine's fuel supply system with an external source of fuel and solvent mixture, comprising: (a) first and second fuel and solvent mixture tanks   (b) a main supply line for delivering fuel to said engine;   (c) a main return line for returning unused fuel from said engine;   (d) a tank selector valve system interposed in said supply and return line for selectively connecting either said first or second tank to both of said lies; and,   (e) pump means for delivering mixture from a selected one of said tanks through said supply line to power and clean an engine connected thereto; and,   (d) said tanks are designated as a gas tank and a diesel tank, respectively, and said main supply line includes a gas and a diesel supply line specific to the respective mixture tank, and said main return line includes a gas and a diesel return line specific to the respective mixture tank and having control and indicator systems specific to the different flow and pressure requirements installed in the respective gas and diesel line.   
     
     
       2. A system according to claim 1 wherein said puring system accommodates substantially the entire range of commercially available gasoline and diesel engine fuel flow and pressure requirements, and said gas and diesel supply lines have separate in-line pumps specific to the pressure and flow requirements of the range of commercially available gas and diesel engines, respectively, accommodated by said purging system. 
     
     
       3. A system according to claim 1 wherein said gas pump has a fuel flow and pressure capability of at least on the order of 150 cubic centimeters per minute at 95 PSI, and said diesel pump has a maximum fuel flow and pressure delivery capability on the order of two gallons per minute at 50 PSI. 
     
     
       4. A system according to claim 1 wherein said diesel supply and return lines have in-line control and indicator means including a pump and filter in said diesel supply line, and all of said control and indicator means except said pump and filter have valved bypasses to permit maximum fuel flow for large diesel engines. 
     
     
       5. A system according to claim 4 wherein one of said indicator means in one of said diesel lines comprises a flow meter. 
     
     
       6. A system according to claim 4 wherein each of said gas and diesel supply lines has an in-line pump and a mixture return loop connected to said supply line downstream of the respective pump and returning to the respective tank, and including a pressure regulator mounted in said return loop to avoid in-line fuel flow restriction of the pressure regulator. 
     
     
       7. A system according to claim 6 wherein each of said regulators has a bypass relief valve connected in parallel with the respective pressure regulator in the respective return loop. 
     
     
       8. A system according to claim 1 wherein said gas and diesel supply lines each has an in-line pump and pump motor and said control system includes a variable timer and a normally open timer switch closed by said timer when said timer is set, and neither of said motors is powered when said timer switch is open. 
     
     
       9. A system according to claim 1 wherein said gas supply line has a gas pump and a low pressure switch operatively connected thereto, said low-pressure switch being operative to actuate an indicator and cutting off power to said gas pump. 
     
     
       10. A system according to claim 9 wherein said control and indicator systems include separate gas and diesel electrical circuits and including a function selector switch wire in series with said timer to alternatively deliver power to said gas circuit or said diesel circuit. 
     
     
       11. A system according to claim 10 wherein each of said gas and diesel supply lines has an in-line filter, and each of said circuits includes a pump motor, and at least one flow meter and a pressure differential sensor/switch connected across the filter in the respective supply line, said pressure differential sensor/switches each being operative to activate a signal in response to a pressure drop across the respective filter exceeding a pre-determined value. 
     
     
       12. A system according to claim 11 and including a housing enclosing and mounting substantially all of said lines, tanks, and systems and said indicator system includes tank mixture level indicators, mixture filter clog indicators, timer-off indicator and a supply line flow rate indicator. 
     
     
       13. A purging system for purging internal combustion engines by temporarily replacing the engines fuel supply system with an external source of fuel and solvent mixture, comprising: (a) first and second fuel and solvent mixture tanks;   (b) a main supply line for delivering fuel to said engine;   (c) a main return line for returning unused fuel from said engine;   (d) a tank selector valve system interposed in said supply and return line for selectively connecting either said first or second tank to both of said lines;   (e) pump means for delivering mixture from a selected one of said tanks through said supply line to power and clean an engine connected thereto; and,   (f) a selectable electric power input for 12 volts and 24 volts and including a voltage dropping device for halving 24-volt power input to provide a uniform 12-volt operating voltage for the purging system independent of whether 12 volts or 24 volts was input to the system.